What's Happening @ Your Library?

There is a lot going on at the library this fall!

Michael Czarnecki

See, It Was Like This...
Tomorrow, September 10, at noon, Michael Czarnecki will present a creative non-fiction oral memoir of the 60s.  Michael grew up in Buffalo, NY, a member of a working class Polish family. The performance covers from 1963, when Michael was in 8th grade, through 1975, when he became part of a rural community in the hills of New York State. Along the way he suffered through battles of conscience, incurred the wrath of family, participated in college demonstrations, hitchhiked 30,000 miles, backpacked in the mountains and experienced the usual late-teen, young adult joys and sorrows of life. All of this is set against the cultural and historical happenings of the era as it affected him. This is not the memoir of one who was a major, or even a minor, figure of the time. No San Francisco, Woodstock, group sex or drug experiences. Just the story of an ordinary person who came of age during this unique time period in our recent history.

Those who lived through the 60s will find much to connect with. Others who know of it only as “history” will get an understanding of one person’s experience during those vital and vibrant years.

Sara Pajunen

Violin, Vocalist and History
Artist and musician Sara Pajunen brings her Laatikko/Box project Finnish folk music and a sampling of the University of Minnesota’s Finnish-American archives to the library. Using violin and voice, she weaves Finnish folk song with both archival audio recordings and conversations with her own Finnish-American family members. During the presentation, participants can view pictures, letters, and other material from Finnish-Americans.

Sara Pajunen is a Minneapolis-based musician and artist whose recent work is inspired by her Finnish ancestry. Join us for her thought provoking program on September 25 at noon.

Digital Photography 101

For those who wish to create better photos with their digital cameras, Brian Rauvola will present a three hour hands-on beginning photography workshop about using your digital camera and editing your photos. Bring your camera (compact or dSLR), camera manual, a tripod (if you have one) and other accessories to learn how to use your camera’s features to improve the pictures you take.  Make sure your batteries are charged and you have plenty of memory because the group is going to explore the library inside and outside (weather permitting) to practice taking photos while also learning to use light effectively and other artistic elements, such as composition, leading lines, rule of 3rds, etc. to improve your images.

The last part of the workshop will be about downloading pictures, organizing your files, and using software to optimize and resize images. Brian’s favorite program to use is Photoshop CS6, but other free or inexpensive computer programs with which you can start will also be demonstrated, such as GIMP (free, www.gimp.org) and Photoshop Elements (around $100, www.adobe.com.) Brian will show you how to edit your pictures to get better photos and have fun doing it!

Brian Rauvola has been a semi-professional photographer in the Duluth/North Shore area for nearly 20 years.  He owns and operates the Duluth Photography Institute, which began October of 2010, and offers workshops, gallery space, and a fully equipped lighting studio for photographers to use. 

This workshop, which is on Thursday, October 16 from noon until 3:00 is limited in class size.  Sign up with Dawn or Susan to be sure of having a space reserved for you.

Story as Tribute
Join us at noon on Thursday, October 30, to learn the true story of Elisabeth Mannering Congdon, heiress to a mining fortune and victim of one of Minnesota’s most notorious homicides. Entrusted with the burdens and joys of memory, her eldest granddaughter, Suzanne Congdon LeRoy, combines lived experience and meticulous historical research as she details a family legacy of love, loss, and perseverance. 

Suzanne Congdon LeRoy

Elisabeth Congdon emerges not as heiress or victim but as the messenger of spring and the key to her granddaughter’s survival. Elisabeth Congdon’s early efforts to nurture a foundation of hope, optimism, and the power of possibility lead Suzanne to advanced education, a remarkable nursing career and the discovery of the ineffable relationship between healing oneself, service to others, and the connection to the spirit and beauty of the earth that makes her whole again.

Suzanne Congdon LeRoy will talk about her grandmother's life as well as the process of researching and writing her memoir.  Nightingale is her first book. A portion of the proceeds will be used to support health and human rights initiatives that benefit women and girls with an emphasis on education, reproductive health, and violence prevention.  

Mario Cianflone
One program isn't enough the week of Halloween!  You may have seen Mario Cianflone in Ely over the summer, or perhaps at Land of the Loon this year.  On Friday, October 31, at 1:00, he will educate and play for us in the library lobby.  Mario is a music educator and master accordionist who plays classical, French, Italian, and Latin American music. 

Mario Cianflone is widely recognized as a leading performing artist and music educator in the mid-west. Receiving his doctorate in music education from the University of Minnesota, Mario possesses performance skills on the accordion that reflect years of dedicated studies with the renowned master accordionist, Larry Malmberg, and distinguished composer Dominic Argento.  He has performed at the Guthrie and State Theaters, the Ordway, and accross the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Henry Boucha

Henry Boucha

Henry Boucha is a former NHL Player, U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member, Ojibwa Native American, and author. His book, Henry Boucha, Ojibwa, Native American Olympian, is about his triumphs and tragedies as he traveled from Warroad high school hockey to professional and Olympic level hockey. Learn about those challenges, how his Ojibwa roots guided him through that experience and continues to influence his life today as he works on a video series about Native American Olympic medal winners.

Henry will be at the library on Thursday, November 13, at noon.  This would be a good program for bantam, high school and college age hockey players as well -  A motivational discussion about the opportunities in hockey while preparing yourself for life off the ice and the importance of being true to your beliefs.

If you have would like more information about these programs or others, call us at 748-7525.